


Unsteady

by naturegoddess210



Series: Bethyl playlist: times that Daryl caught Beth singing [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl Dixon & Beth Greene Friendship, Daryl Dixon in Love, F/M, Pre-Relationship, Prison (Walking Dead), Season/Series 04, Song: Unsteady (X Ambassadors)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:48:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24873316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naturegoddess210/pseuds/naturegoddess210
Summary: Title named after songBeth is tired and sad and trying to get baby Judith to sleep.Daryl may or may not be listening(Set after Woodberry season 4 and after Zach died)
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene
Series: Bethyl playlist: times that Daryl caught Beth singing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799776
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Unsteady

**Author's Note:**

> Beth is singing a different kind of Hold on and Daryl feels something inside him stir.

Life in a prison had it's ups and downs. 

There wasn't any privacy, forget doors if you wanted privacy people took to hanging up sheets over their cells to afford them some modicum of decency when changing (unless you wanted the whole cell block to see you butt naked while changing out of Walker blood stained pants) 

In winter the cement walls and floors and metal bars made the prison freezing. 

In the summer it was boiling. 

When something made too much noise it echoed through the place. 

Like now... 

Beth's dad had caught a cold, the cold prison and his age weren't doing him any favors and Beth worried every time his cough became more ragged and harsh. 

It was the dead of night and her family was tired, Rick was asleep after killing walkers all day outside of the prison. 

Daryl was just back from watch, switching with Glenn and Maggie (they thought they were so clever sneaking out together like it took two people to watch for walkers) 

Judith was crying, Beth had heard her from her room and ran up the stairs down the far left to Rick's room, he was facing the wall blankets yanked over his head asleep or maybe he was avoiding... 

Beth suspected he sometimes had trouble being around his baby; not that he was a horrible father she knew he loved Carl but he was still human and flawed and a single dad... 

Beth grabbed the infant, bundled up in her pink blanket Daryl got her and left. 

Rick lay awake, tears running down his face, shame sitting in his stomach.   
What kind of father avoids his own baby?   
If he were a woman they would say he had post partem Depression but he was a husband whose wife died giving birth. What excuses did he have? 

Beth was down stairs, trying to not wake the entire cell block who had important jobs to do that require at least a decent amount of sleep. 

The least Beth could do was do her job. 

Judith was screaming, Beth had checked for a wet diaper (she was bone dry) she had made her a bottle but the baby in her arms wiggled and batted the bottle away with her chubby fists, screaming harder in defiance, refusing to be silent. 

"What is it sweetie, what's wrong? You not hungry? " Judith inhaled a breath and for a moment Beth thought she would quiet for a while but alas she just cried harder. 

Beth wished she could run to her daddy. He was sick and resting and her big sister was outside in the watch tower having sex with her husband, blissfully unaware of the chaos inside. 

Beth stifling her own sob, she was so tired. 

She was 17 years old and already felt so old. 

She had two dead boyfriends, a dead mama and big brother.   
An entire prison full but she felt like she couldn't ask for help. 

Every one has a job to do and she told herself she didn't get to cry. 

" Shh, shh baby girl please, oh I wish daddy wasn't sick I'd go ask him to help me" The last part she said wetly, blinking away tears. What if he died? What if? 

Her sister had a new life, she had moved on from her baby sister and crippled father and embraced her new identity as Maggie Rhree.

Beth was alone. Alone with a baby that wasn't hers and she couldn't get her to stop crying about whatever it was that was bothering her.

Beth sighed. Only one thing she hadn't tried yet, "okay.. "

Beth picked a song from her memories, something she heard on the radio before the fall of humanity. When her Momma was alive. When Shawn was alive. 

Hold  
Hold on  
Hold on to me  
'Cause I'm a little unsteady  
A little unsteady  
\-------

Daryl came in from smoking he had finished his rounds for the night, walking around the prison checking for anything, breathing in the night air and pretending he didn't hear Maggie screaming from the watch tower. 

He was dirt tired and his bones ached as he hitched his crossbow up his shoulder. 

Walking backside he heard the bloodcurdling screaming of a baby that made Daryl quicken his pace, Rick was probably pretending to sleep as lil ass kicker lay in her cribe crying for attention. 

Suddenly he heard, low and soft and sad

So fucking sad and beautiful. 

Beth was singing, he recognized it but he couldn't remember from what. Maybe it was from before. Maybe he heard it on the radio in his brothers truck, Merel was in prison again so Daryl got to listen to whatever he wanted to. 

She was a few feet away but Daryl stood in the darkness of the doorway. 

Hold  
Hold on  
Hold on to me  
'Cause I'm a little unsteady  
A little unsteady

Mother, I know  
That you're tired of being alone  
Dad, I know you're trying  
To fight when you feel like flying

If you love me, don't let go  
If you love me, don't let go

Her voice was like a knife, beautiful and sharp and painful. Daryl could hear the wetness in her voice that meant she was crying as she sang , somehow it added to the song giving it some emotion he didn't want to touch. Not yet. Maybe later when he was alone and could go over the lyrics she sang. Take the words apart and process how it made him feel. 

\----

Judith had stopped crying. 

Carol and Michonne had come out of their own respective rooms. 

Michonne " Beth that was beautiful, I didn't know you could sing that way" 

Beth had gasped "oh no. I woke you up. I-- I was.. " She looked so sad that she had woken her family up, she had really tried to not wake everyone. 

Carol shook her head. " It's okay, I heard Judith crying but I.. Heard you sing and I wanted to hear it, Daryl wasn't that beautiful? "

Beth turned to gasp softly. 

Daryl stepped from the darkness his eyes unreadable, he looked at Beth like this once before but this was something more.. Intense. 

Was he mad? No? Why would he be mad at her for singing to Judith? 

"How long were you standing there? " She stammered quietly. 

He was silent, walking closer 

"A while"

Michonne grinned behind her, making eye contact over Beth's blonde crown of hair 

He felt unsteady as he took the stairs to his room. 

Beth felt breathless and she didn't know why.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted Beth to sing this. 
> 
> We all know Beth likes old Irish music and country, maybe some Tom Petty but I really wanted her to belt out some of the music I listen to. 
> 
> Preferably with Daryl listening and having chest pains .


End file.
